All Things Sensory by Harkla
Rachel Harrington, COTA/L, AC & Jessica Hill, COTA/L
Rachel Harrington and Jessica Hill, are two passionate Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants who answer your questions related to all things sensory, occupational therapy, parenting, self-care, nutrition, and health, from a therapist’s perspective. Providing raw, honest, fun ideas, and strategies, for parents and families to implement into daily life. Great for those who work with children with sensory processing disorder, special needs, autism, and ADHD. This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. At Harkla, our goal is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 7, 2024 • 1h 2min
#294 - A Primitive Reflex Integration Success Story You Don't Want to Miss!
We are so excited to introduce you to Jill Gockel, mom of 5, who left the corporate world at the end of 2016 to stay at home with her kids. In addition to raising her 5 kids, she also invests in real estate, has an online business, & is a continual learner.Our conversation with Jill centers around primitive reflexes. She explains how she first learned about primitive reflexes and the results she and her family have seen since going through our digital course.Learn more about our primitive...
Jan 31, 2024 • 30min
#293 - Sensory Processing Red Flags in Infants and Toddlers
What are some things that we often see in infants, toddlers, and school age children that indicate sensory processing challenges?We list out our top sensory processing red flags for infants, including colic, missed milestones, and challenges with feeding.We then list out our top sensory processing red flags for toddlers which include avoiding playground equipment, covering ears for everyday noises, and avoiding messy play.Finally, we provide our top sensory concerns for school age children, i...
19 snips
Jan 24, 2024 • 22min
#292 - Eloping: The Why and How for Kids Who Run Away
Explore the intriguing world of children's elopement behaviors, where running away signifies deeper sensory challenges. Discover the reasons behind this behavior, such as overstimulation and the need for connection. Learn effective strategies for parents, like using visual aids and positive reinforcement to enhance safety. Delve into the importance of fostering strong relationships and engaging activities to support children's emotional needs. This discussion is a must for understanding how to create a more nurturing environment for children.
Jan 17, 2024 • 25min
#291 - Answering Your Sensory Questions!
We are your podcast DJs and today’s episode is answering YOUR questions!We talk about challenges between young siblings, a 4-year-old Autistic sensory seeker, a sensory-seeking toddler who struggles at bedtime, strategies for a 2-year-old Autistic sensory seeker who will be traveling, and adopted children who are struggling due to drug exposure in utero!Some of the ideas we talk about for these questions are: using emotional regulation tools and sensory stories to advocate for needs; asking y...
Jan 10, 2024 • 60min
#290 - Nutrition for Neurodivergent Children with the Autism Dietician
Brittyn Coleman is a Registered Dietitian, Autism Nutrition Expert, and the Founder of the Nourishing Autism Collective. She helps parents of children with autism to nourish their kids confidently in a gradual, sustainable way. Through her practice, she has been able to support thousands of parents to expand their child’s diet in a sensory-friendly way and help them get the nutrients they need to feel their best and thrive.Download FREE Nutrition Guide: https://autismdietitian.ck.page/guideJo...
Jan 3, 2024 • 26min
#289 - Help! My Child is Behind on Their Milestones- What Do I Do??
Developmental delays can happen for a variety of reasons- there’s no one to blame and you are not doing anything wrong!We’re going to share some of the typical developmental milestones so you can identify if your little one is on track or a little behind, what you can do to support their development, and who to reach out to and get more help from.We dive into gross motor, fine motor, oral and feeding, speech, emotional, and social milestones. We also give you 2 activities to add into the dail...
Dec 27, 2023 • 1h 28min
#288 - Primitive Reflexes: The Basics - Our Free Webinar
What are primitive reflexes? Why are they important? What are the signs of retained primitive reflexes? How can you help a child who has retained primitive reflexesListen in and get the answers to these questions, and more! WATCH The Primitive Reflex Webinar and get access to the FREE downloads! Dive into the FULL digital course, Assessment and Integration of Primitive Reflexes for Improved Independence in Daily ActivitiesMake sure to check out all of our links below! We’d love to answer your...
Dec 20, 2023 • 19min
#287- 5 Steps to Creating a Sensory Circuit
What is a sensory circuit? We use this term to describe an obstacle course that is used for a sensory diet routine.A sensory circuit can be used in the clinic as a way to meet your client's sensory threshold. It can be used at home as your child's daily sensory diet routine as well! We break down how to create an effective sensory circuit using 5 steps: identify the child’s sensory preferences; create a visual support / tool; add a vestibular and a proprioceptive activity; add 1 or 2 more sen...
Dec 13, 2023 • 14min
#286 - Listener Question: Integrating Primitive Reflexes in the School Setting 2x Per Week
Check out our Holiday Sensory Survival Guide, on sale NOW! Shop During Harkla’s Christmas SALE! Save 15% on ANY order! Shop and Save Until Dec. 14, 2023! harkla.co/pages/christmas-saleShop and Save During Our Digital Course SALE - Save 20% on ANY Digital Course, Dec. 15 - Dec. 22, 2023. harkla.co/pages/digital-courses-holiday-salePrimitive Reflex Digital CourseToday’s episode is answering a question that we received from a student inside of our Primitive Reflex Digital Course. This person is ...
Dec 6, 2023 • 22min
#285 - Tips for Improving Organization of Behavior
Check out our Holiday Sensory Survival Guide, on sale NOW! Shop During Harkla’s Christmas SALE! Save 15% on ANY order! Shop and Save Until Dec. 14, 2023! harkla.co/pages/christmas-saleIn this episode, we explore the fascinating topic of organization of behavior in children and how occupational therapy can play a crucial role in addressing these challenges - and how parents can use the same strategies at home!We start by talking about how to identify sensory preferences, then jump into using s...
